Guardian Angel
by xXChiasaHimuraXx
Summary: Things once lost have a habit of returning in time - even if they may not return in the way one might want. GrayxUltear if you squint. Two-shot. SPOILERS post episode 175.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: **I had to. I'm sorry. This idea came to me in the early hours of the morning as I lay half asleep, and I just had to... I'm not sorry that this is FEELS, DEM FEELS, okay? Okay.

Enjoy.

I own nothing that is not mine.

And, yes, this is a two-shot, meaning there WILL be another chapter after this one, but more-than-likely ONLY one.

**WARNING:** You can't say I didn't warn you that this contains mass SPOILERS for anyone who doesn't read the manga. Set post Eclipse Arc but before the Giants.

* * *

What he was doing out so earlier was beyond her.

But, then again, she was out rather early as well. At least she had a good reason, she told herself – going for a run to stay in shape, early in the morning in order to beat the heat of the day. (She would never admit the real reason was because she was restless and for the love-of-all-that-is-good couldn't find a way to fall asleep.)

But him? He was just standing there on the bridge, staring down at the river. She slowed her pace until she was stopped at the end of the bridge, but, even though he was facing the direction from which she had come, he had yet to notice her presence.

With a tired sigh, she approached the lone figure with caution. He may not be alert enough to notice her, but she knew (from experience) what could happen if she approached him too quickly and startled him. Especially with everything everyone had been put through as of late… She inwardly flinched; she didn't want to know what would happen if she caught him off-guard this time. When she stopped a few feet away, she still wasn't sure if he knew she was there.

"Gray?" The way he jumped at his name gave her the answer. "What are you doing out here at this hour?"

Without looking up from the river, he answered, his voice almost painfully soft. "I could ask you the same question, Erza."

She leaned her back against the rail next to him. "Went for a run…"

In the light from the moon, she saw his eyebrow rise. "At three in the morning?"

"It's cooler before the sun comes up…" She almost could have sworn she heard him chuckle.

"You're a horrible liar, Erza."

She shifted uncomfortably. "So I couldn't sleep. Too much has happened recently, you know?"

"Yeah." He sighed. "Woke up and couldn't fall back asleep… Decided that if I was already awake I might as well watch the sun rise…"

She frowned. "A bad dream?"

He opened his mouth to respond, closed it again, then managed to answer. "… I haven't decided yet if it was a nightmare or paradise. Sounds strange, right? But…" He trailed off uncertainly.

She turned to face the river and attempted to make eye-contact. He wasn't having any of it, his eyes cast down towards the water, shadowed by his bangs. Neither spoke for several moments, the sounds of late summer filling the air, before she couldn't take it anymore. She didn't want to pry, but, really, it was obvious something heavy was weighing him down. "Gray? Do you want to talk about it?"

For another agonizingly long moment, he didn't answer. Then he sighed, raising his head to gaze at the stars shining brightly above. "I don't remember my parents all that well since they died when I was young; I'm not even sure if that dream was something that actually happened or not, though I feel like it was real. I remember my grandfather even less than I remember my parents, but I do remember that when he died I was heart-broken. After the funeral, my mother pulled me aside and told me something that, if this dream is a real memory, I can't believe I ever would have forgotten. 'Gray,' she said, 'death is really nothing to fear. You see, even after a loved one passes on, they never really leave us. They watch over us and protect us in ways that a mortal person cannot. Your grandfather loved you very much, and I have every confidence that he will watch over you and protect you for the rest of your life.'… Then it ended." He gave a dry laugh. "I'm not sure if it was paradise because I actually remembered something like that or Hell because she's gone…"

The pair lapsed into silence once more. What was she supposed to say to that? He had lost so many people in his life that he had cared for… She smiled. "You must have quite a few guardian angels then, Gray."

"You have no idea." Was that… a tear? "So many people have protected me, both in life and in death… Do you have any idea what it's like to lose someone you love? someone you only just came to care for, only to have that person stripped away?"

She turned her gaze to stare up at the stars. "… I do. Not that I understand what you're going through – I won't even pretend that I do – but I lost someone recently, as well." She smiled wryly. "Well, if seven years ago can still be considered 'recently.' Do you remember Simon?"

He glanced over at her. "Your friend from the Tower of Heaven?"

"Hai. Jellal – still possessed, mind you – killed him. Right in front of me. As he protected me. And there was Rob, years before, as we sought to escape our prison; he died the same way." _And the guild mark on his back led me here…_

"I guess you've got a couple of guardian angels of your own…"

"Hai." Once again, silenced reigned before a thought occurred to her, a frown marring her face. "Gray, did something happen… you know… towards the end of the Grand Magic Games? When we were leaving to come home and you just broke down… Does that have something to do with this?"

He turned his gaze back to the river. "I think she's the reason I remembered at all." He blinked back his tears. "After the gate was opened, and the dragons came through… We were all fighting… I should have… I shouldn't be alive, Erza. I don't know how she did it, but I'm alive because of her. She turned back the clock – _for everyone_ – that night. I don't know how – she couldn't control living things – but she did. And she used up _her life _to do it." He shook his head, wet trails appearing down his face. "I don't know how I even recognized her – she was so old but… She was…_happy…_" His voice faltered, but after a moment, she heard him murmur, "Like mother, like daughter…"

She was speechless. He hadn't spoken her name once, but she still knew of whom he spoke – it was painfully obvious. _Ultear._ She patiently waited for his tears to subside before she spoke again – softly, comfortingly, "Why didn't you tell us this back then?"

"I couldn't. It hurt. …So much…"

She placed a hand reassuringly on his shoulder. For this first time that night, he met her gaze. She gestured with her chin towards the horizon. "The sun will be coming up soon. It's a bright, new day. And you're alive. Don't waste the life she's given to you, Gray." She paused for a moment before returning to leaning on the barrier and gazing up at the sky. "You know, I don't doubt your mother's words. I don't doubt that your grandfather and your parents having been protecting you over these long years. So I know that Ultear must be watching over you, too."

"How do you know she's not watching over someone else? Like Meredy?"

"Because she asked me to take care of you."

"Nani?"

"After she opened everyone's Second Origin. Before they left, she told me to look after you. If she cared enough to tell me that, then I have no doubt she cares too much to _not_ watch out for you now."

He was silent for a moment before he asked almost so softly that she didn't hear him, "Do you think she knew?"

She smiled. "Yes, Gray. I think she knew."


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: **Many apologies for the lateness of the conclusion, but honestly I was wanting a better ending than the one this ended up having. Unfortunately, I just can't seem to write a better ending that fits. Therefore, you have a spur-of-the-moment ending that I wrote after I imported the document with the rest of the story in it. XD SO. Here ya go. Enjoy!

* * *

_A Month Later_

Gray's head hit the stone floor with a sickening crack, leaving him dazed and winded.

Across the room Erza, Lucy, and Natsu were still fighting, though they, too, were barely still standing. Lucy had long since used up her magic, and the other two didn't have much left to give either. How had it turned out this way? The request had supposed to have been a simple quest to take out a band of highway robbers.

Too bad it turned out that a dark guild was behind it.

Though it wasn't exactly his fault (they didn't have to agree to go with him in the first place), Gray felt responsible – he was the one who suggested they take a request – he was the one who chose the job.

And now they were _way_ out-numbered.

He saw Natsu and Lucy fly back into the wall not far from where he still lay. They didn't move to get up – didn't move at all. He didn't blame them; he couldn't find the energy to move, either. Would this be the way it would end? He tried to push himself up. His arms shaking, he finally managed that much, but he knew he was done. He knew he couldn't fight like this.

Natsu and Lucy still hadn't moved.

Erza was being held up by her throat, unable to get free.

And all Gray could do was sit and watch.

As Erza was thrown into the wall next to where Lucy and Natsu lay, all he could do was sit and watch.

As the dark guild master loomed over his three best friends, all he could do was sit and watch.

_No._

No. He refused. He wouldn't – he _couldn't. _Finding strength that he had thought had long fled his weary body, he stood up. And he ran straight at the dark guild master. _Let it be known that Fairy Tail didn't go down without a fight!_

Just as he was about to tackle the giant of a man from behind, the master saw him and stepped aside just at the last moment. Gray summersaulted past him and stopped between the man and his nakama, crouched down, one hand on the floor for support.

The man frowned. "I see one little rat has managed to survive when the odds were clearly against him. Not very smart, really. You could have survived, anyway."

"Do you really think," Gray panted, "that I would leave _my family _behind? That would make me worse than _you."_

The man's mouth turned to snarl at them. "No matter. You'll all die together then!" Between the man's hands a black orb began to form.

"Gray!" Erza hissed from behind him. "What do you think you're doing?"

He glanced back at her. "Saving you all, what do you think?"

Her eyes grew wide. "Don't you dare –!"

Gray shook his head. "It might be better if I took that option. But I won't." Sitting a little taller, his hand coming up off the floor, he placed them behind him. "Ice Make: Rampart!" The last thing he heard was Erza shouting for him to stop before her voice was cut off with the wall of ice now separating them.

The master chuckled. "Now what was the point of that? You'll die first, that lovely wall will disappear, and then I will kill them as well. You have accomplished nothing!"

Gray smirked. "Really?"

The man looked beyond Gray to the barrier, a look of surprise erupting onto his face. "YOU!"

"Yes, _me," _Gray replied. "I knew that spell was powerful enough to put a hole in the wall. By the time you finish with me, those three will be long gone."

The man sneered. "Then I will happily be rid of you before I hunt down your entire guild. How does that sound?"

"They'll beat you to it, I'm afraid." He smirked. "That's what happens when you mess with Fairy Tail."

The master suddenly started to laugh. "Well, well, well! Looks like your little girlfriend decided to stay to watch your demise!"

Gray turned his head, eyes growing wide as he realized that only Natsu and Lucy were gone. Erza had moved off a little way, but she was still there. And he knew why. As soon as her magic replenished, she would come back to try to help him. He looked away with a sad sigh. By then it would be too late. As he turned back around, he knew it was already too late.

A blinding black flash and he knew no more.

* * *

"Natsu, take Lucy and get out of here. I'm going to try to get Gray out of there."

"Erza, that's suicide!"

She stared with compassion at her long-time friend. "I know, Natsu. But I can't leave without trying."

"Then I'm staying. Gray's my friend too, ya know."

"I know," Erza stated, shaking her head, "but, since she's still out, one of us has to get Lucy out of here." She smiled at him. "Trust me, Natsu. I'll bring Gray back – alive."

With a solemn nod, Natsu hoisted Lucy up onto his back and started off at a jog in the direction of the nearest town.

When she was satisfied he wasn't going to come back, she started back towards the hole they had escape through. She knew there was a good chance that neither of them would make it out alive, but she wasn't about to let him die alone – and not the same way so many people close to him had passed away. She wouldn't.

But then he turned his head and saw her as she crouched next the destroyed wall. She saw the black magic building. She knew she was out of time. Tears building in her eyes, she watched as that black magic was released from the mage's hands and was sent spiraling towards her friend.

She didn't want to watch, but she couldn't stand to tear her eyes away either.

But then…

As the black blast spread out to consume him, her eyes grew wide at what she saw there.

Standing in front of Gray, arms spread wide, hands clasped tightly together, were four, white silhouettes. The two on the left were unmistakably women; the two on the left, men. Black hair billowing around her form, Erza knew the one to the far left. She couldn't be anyone else.

_Ultear._

The older woman standing next to her with short, brown hair had to be…

_Gray's mother._

The younger of the two men, the one with short, cropped dark hair…

_Gray's father._

Then the last man… Someone dear to Gray…

_His grandfather._

Then it was true. She smiled as the black magic dissipated; the victim of the spell, the master who had cast the spell. "Those who love us," she whispered, "never really leave us, but continue to watch over us in ways a mortal human cannot. _Guardian angels…"_

* * *

She never told Gray what she had seen that day; to her, it felt as if she had intruded on something very personal - something she wasn't supposed to have seen. As a result, she'd had to lie through her teeth in attempt to explain why he was still alive. After considering several options - the spell backfired, Gray had had enough power left somehow to defeat him - she finally decided on the simplest: She hadn't seen what had happened. By the time she had returned to the building, the guild leader was dead and Gray was out cold. No one questioned her explanation.

Except for Gray.

He didn't remember much after he had made a way of escape for his teammates, but he did recall her returning. Luckily for her, he had the tact to question her in private about the matter instead of in front of the entire guild.

At first she still avoided it, much to his irritation. "You're still recovering, Gray..."

"So what? I think I deserve to know why I'm not dead, Erza."

She couldn't deny his simple statement. But she still felt as if she had intruded upon something entirely too personal that she shouldn't have witnessed. She crossed her arms over her chest, a frown appearing on her face, as she looked away from where he lay in the infirmary bed.

"You're hiding something. Spill."

"I'm not."

He snorted. "I've known you far too long, Erza Scarlet, to believe that Bull."

After a short moment, she sighed. "Guardian angels..." she whispered.

"Nani?" he spoke, brow furrowing in confusion.

"I haven't told anyone because... well... how do you explain something like this? But I know what I saw, Gray - I know what I saw. Your grandfather... Your mother and father... Ultear... I saw them all, Gray. I saw them protect you. They are why you are still alive."

Gray was silent. When he finally spoke, his voice was soft yet still seemed to echo loudly off the white walls. "I would say you're crazy if I didn't know any better. But crazy things seem to be the norm for us, so I believe you. ...Why didn't you just tell me though?"

She ducked her head. "When I saw them, it felt like I was seeing something I wasn't supposed to see. It felt like I was intruding on something incredibly personal. ...Angels don't really show themselves to us, after all. I don't think anyone was meant to see that..." She looked back up at her friend to find that his eyes were half closed again, but this time a smile graced his features.

"Arigatou," he murmured, "for telling me... It makes me... very happy..."

As he slipped back to sleep, she smiled, sending up a silent prayer. _Thank you...for protecting my best friend._


End file.
